


Grace's Secret

by CaseyKat09



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Cillian Murphy is fucking hot, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I couldn't find the tag for onesided Grace/Campbell, I haven't even edited it, I just needed to publish it, So I put that instead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 16:18:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8109151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaseyKat09/pseuds/CaseyKat09
Summary: Grace Burgess wasn't supposed to fall in love with the enemy. She wasn't supposed to do any of the things she did. The trouble is with those types of things, they were inevitable.





	

It was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to play the part of the sweet, kind, Irish barmaid and gain the trust of one of the most cunning gang leaders in all of England, find out the location of the weapons he stole, and then give him into the custody of the Crown for proper justice. She wasn’t supposed to find herself patting his little brother, Finn, on the back as he wins a game of cards. She wasn’t supposed to find herself smiling every time John made a dumb joke or when Arthur tried to get a sweetheart for the night using one of his horrible pick-up lines. She definitely was not supposed to fall in love with Thomas Shelby, the leader of the Peaky Blinders and the person she was here to capture.  
But fall in love Grace Burgess did. She fell in love with the ruthless gangster who did anything to protect his family. She fell in love with the broken soldier who, unbeknownst to most, battled his demons every night. She fell in love with the man who did bad things for good reasons. She fell in love with Thomas fucking Shelby.  


So as Grace was walking to the place where she met Chief Campbell every other week, she decided she had two choices.  
Grace could tell him what she found, Danny Wizz-Bang’s not-so-empty grave containing the stolen merchandise. She would probably receive a medal of some kind. But nothing so great as what Campbell would get, after all, it is still a man’s world. But she would be forfeiting the lives of the entire Shelby clan. She knew that Chester Campbell was obsessed in their destruction, just as she knew the kind of methods he used to get what he wanted: Exploitation, Lies, torture. Methods, Grace wanted no more part of, despite the many years of friendship.  


The other, more appealing option, was to just pretend she never went to the grave yard. She could tell the chief inspector she was starting to become anxious about this whole operation. She could blame it on her “womanly sensibilities”. God knows that man doesn’t see her as anything other than a damsel in distress. Grace decided that this was what she would do to protect the love of her life and his family who had been so kind to her.  


“Where have you been? It’s half-past nine!” Campbell demanded. She shrugged.  


“I got a little distracted, to be honest. There was a lad who needed some help tying his shoelaces.” She mentally cringed. Even to her, this excuse sounded like a crock of shit.  


“You’re too kind, but that’s no excuse, young lady.” Campbell reprimanded. “You could have been followed. I’ve heard Thomas Shelby has taken a liking to you.” Grace scrambled for a response. She couldn’t deny it, she told him of this herself but was met with disbelief. “It’s to be expected, though. A pretty, young thing like you being paraded in his face. “ He continued, a hint of jealousy coating his voice.  
“  


About that…” She began. “I have decided that I no longer wish to take part in this operation.”  


“What? For what reason?” he demanded. “I thought you wished to bring these beasts down as much as I do.”  


“I have decided I no longer wish to spend my life on this pointless vendetta against someone who may or may not be innocent.” She declared. Silence. She was nervous about how he would take this.  


“So. You’re resigning then?”  


“You’ll have the official papers in the morning.”  


He looked thoughtful for a second.  


“Well. Since, in fact, we are no longer in a strictly professional relationship…” He trailed off. He stuck his hand in his pocket, dread piling up in Grace’s stomach. When he pulled his hand back out, he was holding up a small, black velvet box. Grace gasped, which Campbell assumed was in surprise.  


“I do not expect you to love me.” He began, shifting onto one knee. “But I was hoping we could unite as…likeminded individuals who share similar values.” He tilted his head up at her, hope shining in his eyes. He opened the small velvet box reveling a small diamond ring.  


“Mr. Campbell.” Grace said softly. She took his hand, slowly closing the lid to the box. He frowned. “You deserve better than someone like me.” She said softly, and it was true. She had betrayed everything she came here to do. She felt like she was better off for it, but it still didn’t change the fact that she was a traitor in the eyes of the law and his.  


“Is this because of him?! That beast?!” he demanded, spit flying from his mouth. At this point, he had risen off the ground and now towered over Grace.  


“No. This is about me.” She said, her voice cool. “Because of your friendship with my father, I’m just going to be honest with you. I do not, nor will ever, love you. I do not believe it was my father’s wish for me to be trapped in a loveless marriage.” Her eyes softened, hoping for him to see the truth in her words. “I believe you’ll find a woman who love you for all the many things I admire,” She emphasized the word “but could not find it in myself to love.”  


His eyes, cold and grey like the sky, remained impassive.  
"  


"Birmingham has indeed changed you, dear lady, but not for the better I think.” He remarked and started walking away. Relief flooded through Grace’s heart. She took a deep breath to steady herself.  
“If I find out you’re still… associating… with Thomas Shelby, for the love I bear your father I’ll kill you myself.” He declared as he strode out through the doors.


End file.
